Reuters
Powered by its 6-3 conservative majority, the court has emerged in recent years as something of an ally in what has been called the "war on the administrative state," a longstanding conservative effort to weaken federal agencies that regulate key aspects of American business and life. The court on Thursday upheld the CFPB's funding mechanism - drawing money annually from the Federal Reserve rather than from budgets passed by Congress - in a challenge by the payday loan industry, handing a win to President Joe Biden's administration and a setback to the agency's conservative critics. Despite that ruling, pending decisions in cases that the justices heard during their current term, which began in October, could substantially curb federal agency powers in areas ranging from finance to fish conservation.